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A while back a reader asked if I could supply more information on good fats vs. bad fats,inparticularly monounsaturated fats(MUFA”s).Now that we are past the craze of the holidays and the new year I thought it would be a good time to touch on the subject.

Dietary Fats

When we talk about the fats we consume they are considered dietary fats.Dietary fat is one of the 3 macronutrients that provide energy for the body,the other 2 being protein and carbohydrates!Although most think they would like to eliminate all fats from their diets,fat is actually essential to your health as it supports a number of your body’s functions. If you try to avoid all fat, you risk getting insufficient amounts of fat-soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids. Also, in attempting to remove fat from your diet, you may wind up eating too many processed foods touted as low-fat or fat-free rather than healthier and naturally lower fat foods, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains. Instead of doing away with fat in your diet, enjoy healthy fats in moderation.

Good vs. Bad

When we talk about dietary fats,they are broken into two catagories.The two catagories fats are broken into are good fats and bad fats.The Good fats are Polyunsaturated fats and Monounsaturated fats.The Bad fats are Saturated fats and Trans fats.Most fats that have a high percentage of saturated fat or trans fat are solid at room temperature. Because of this, they’re typically referred to as solid fats. They include beef fat, pork fat, shortening, stick margarine and butter.Foods made up mostly of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature, such as olive oil, safflower oil, peanut oil and corn oil.

Good Fats

Monounsaturated Fats-Studies show that eating foods high in MUFA’s improves blood cholesterol levels,which can decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease.Also may benefit insulin levels and blood sugar control,which is helpful if you have type 2 diabetes.Foods high in MUFA’s include;macadamia nuts,olive oil,olives,hazelnuts,pecans,almonds,dry roasted peanuts,cashews,chicken & turkey.

Polyunsaturated Fats-Mainly found in plant based foods and oils,foods high in PUFA’S improves blood cholesterol levels, which can decrease your risk of heart disease,may also help decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes. One type of polyunsaturated fat, omega-3 fatty acids, may be especially beneficial to your heart. Omega-3s, found in some types of fatty fish, appear to decrease the risk of coronary artery disease. They may also protect against irregular heartbeats and help lower blood pressure levels.

How Do I Calculate What I Need?(Source: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010)

Need help calculating what your daily fat intake should be in grams? Multiply your daily total calorie intake by the recommended percentage of fat intake. Divide that total by 9, which is the number of calories in a gram of fat. For example, here’s how a 7 percent saturated fat limit looks if you eat 2,000 calories a day. Multiply 2,000 by 0.07 to get 140 calories. Divide 140 by 9 to get about 15 grams of saturated fat.

Here are some tips to help you make over the fat in your diet:

Read food labels and ingredient lists and avoid products with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil listed among the first ingredients.

Saute with olive oil instead of butter.

Use olive oil in salad dressings and marinades. Use canola oil when baking.

By now,two weeks into the new year,some will start to struggle with their resolutions of getting into shape and losing weight.If this is the case with you ,don’t worry to much because it’s normal,we all struggle with new things.Stay the course!

In case you have never heard this,it takes at least 30 days to create a new habit,hence learning to eat healthy being a new habit,it may take a little time,so don’t beat yourself up quite yet,you will get there.It may take a little discipline on your part, but you can do it.

On days when you are having a rough time,fall back on the basics.Eat your protein early and often,eat six small meals each day,not two or three large ones,half your body weight per day in grams of protein.Cut your calories back,there is a formula in one of my earlier posts you can go back and figure what your needs are.Remember, use your strategically timed calorie and protein intake to rev up your metabolism and melt the flab away.

Also make sure you get at least 30 grams of fiber per day,this is important because fiber attaches to fat and pulls it from your body.That’s why it’s important to drink enough water every day as the water flushes the fat from your system.This may all sound a little complicated at first,but once you do it for a while it will be like second nature.

If you don’t think you can do this on your own,as I have said in the past,Tom Venuto’s Burn the Fat ,Feed the Muscle program may be just what your looking for.This program is all about using the proper foods at the proper times to burn fat off your frame.This guy knows what he is talking about,he is a retired bodybuilder,a personal trainer and writes hundreds of published articles per year on fat loss.And this program is very reasonable.Click the Burn the Fat tab on top of the page for more info or to purchase.

The new year is here and it’s time to get your ass in gear!That might be a little strong but it’s time to get going,time to get serious about our nutrition,about being the healthiest you that you can possibly be!It’s up to you,no one else can do it for you.

As you may know from reading my past posts I beleive nutrition has to come first,without the proper nutrition plan you won’t have the energy to exercise.And if you did muster up enough energy for exercise,whether it be thru energy drinks or caffeine or any of the other crap that’s out there on the market,you would have a tough go of it,and would struggle to see even minimal results and probably get frustrated and quit,so let’s get inline with our bodies and get nutrition first.

So where do you start?Well start with a high protein breakfast,the most important meal of the day!You need breakfast to get your body out of starvation mode and get your metabolism up and burning calories.After breakfast you need small meals featuring some protein every three hours thruout the rest of the day.Sounds like a big undertaking I know,but you can do it one step at a time,one meal at a time!

If you feel you need a plan to follow,I would strongly recommend Tom Venuto’s Burn the Fat,Feed the Muscle program!Tom is a retired bodybuilder,a trainer to many of hollywood’s big stars and author of hundreds of article’s on nutrition and fat loss.But if your looking for a quick read,at 340 pages this may not be for you.

This program is not affiliated with any supplement company,does not push any of the so-called fat burners or magic weight loss pills,and only recommends a healthy fat loss of 2 to 3 pounds per week.If your looking for one of these 30lbs. in 30 days programs, this ain’t it,keep on looking!

Burn the Fat is not a recipe or cookbook. It is not a workout manual,though there is a chapter on strength training and also one on cardio,but with no illustrations or pictures.

Burn the Fat,Feed the Muscle is primarily a nutrition program,probably one of the most complete programs on nutrition and fat loss ever published!If you are looking for an honest and detailed diet and nutrition program,then this is for you.If your looking for an great program without the over inflated price tag,this one’s for you,with the basic program costing less than 30 bucks,you can be the best you,you can possibly be!

To buy the program click on the Burn the Fat tab on the top of the page!To read one of Tom’s articles,go to my website www.savingmoneyonproducts.com.

This can be the year of you,but you have to take charge,You can do it!

With the arrival of 2012 we leave the struggles of 2011 in the dust and look forward to a fresh start.This can be the year you figure out what your body needs to get healthy,have more energy and see the results you have been looking for.

Moving forward into 2012 we have learned from our past posts what we need to do to get on track!We know we need to eat smaller meals every 2 to 3 hours five to six times per day.We know we need to intake more protein,at least half our body weight in grams per day.We know we need to monitor and possibly cut our calorie intake but never go below 1,200 per day.And probably the most important thing,we know we need to get off the diet bandwagon and just learn to live a healthy lifestyle!Diets don’t work,they never have!Sure you may take some weight off with one of these fad diet programs out there,but to be truly healthy and keep weight off forever,it won’t happen on a diet!

With that being said,if you think you need a diet program to follow there is only one out there that I would recommend and that is Tom Venuto’s Burn the Fat program.I have seen,have tried and studied most of the programs on the market and this is not like any of them!This guy flat knows what he is talking about!He beleives in eating more of the right foods to burn fat off your body,not starving yourself to lose weight and gaining it back as soon as you start eating again.If you really need a program to follow I would choose this one!Oh and by the way he’s not going to try to talk you into drinking shakes or swallowing a bunch of pills to lose weight,he’s going to teach you to use proper nutrition .

Ok that’s it for today.Go out and get 2012 started with a bang!Click on the Burn the Fat tab on the top of the page to learn more or to buy the program now!And as always go to www.savingmoneyonproducts.com to learn more.

If this was you,then congratulations,as for everyone who can’t say that,we got some work to do.Christmas can be a really tough time for most of us not to gain weight if we aren’t careful.All the food and pies and cookies,you could gain weight just looking at all that.Myself,I usually go up about 5lbs during this time of year and I consider myself pretty knowledgable about all this stuff!

Well if you gained,here’s the good news,it’s not the end of the world,tommorow is another day,everyone is entitled to a bad day(or weekend)every now and then,it happen’s.The even better news is you can get a new start right now or tommorow morning!

If you didn’t read my last post,then you need to go back and read it.This is how you need to start living,not some fad diet or crash diet that you can’t follow for more than a couple of weeks at a time,those don’t and never will work and most of them out there are not very good for you!

The way you lose weight and stay healthy is by living a healthy lifestyle,watching what you eat,eating small portions 5-6 times per day,excercising and living one day at a time.Anyone can do it,I am no one special and I learned to do it and so can you.Get going,get out there and get started.

Well folks,it’s here,Christmas week.The week of trying to get your shopping finished up,trying to get your baking done,tring to get the house ready for family and friends,trying to….boy this is making me tired just thinking about it.

Ok,you probably get where I’m going with that right?Yes the weeks leading up to christmas can be a little overwhelming if you let them.But all you can do is take it one step at a time,just like your weight loss and healthy eating plan.You get up every morning with a plan for your day,a mental checklist if you will.This is how you need to approach your nutrition plan,especially when your busy and maybe a little overwhelmed.

When you get up in the morning,make sure you get your protein heavy breakfast to get your body and metabolism started.Plus this will give you the energy for the start of your day.Short on time,grab a protein shake and a piece of fruit.

Heading out for some last minute shopping,make sure to grab a protein bar or maybe some nuts(I love cashews-full of good fats and protein).Doesn’t have to be a lot,just enough to keep the metabolism going strong.(remember,you need to eat every 2-3 hours)

Now we’re approaching lunch time,you need to eat!I know your really busy and don’t have time to stop,but you need to!If you don’t,you will most likely overeat later!You just need a few minutes,again something with some protein.(I love turkey or ham on whole wheat)

Alright back at it and going strong,firing on all cylinders because you have fueled your body properly thus far today.About the middle of the afternoon most start really dragging their behinds a bit,well guess what,it’s been a couple of hours,it’s time for another snak,you guessed,something with some protein.

Back at home now,it’s late afternoon or early evening and thinking about a dinner plan?Geuss what,you’re most likely going to stick with your plan and have a sensible dinner!Why?Because your not starving,grabbing at anything in sight,you fueled properly all day and now you are more likely to stay on track.A good protein rich,colorful dinner(chiken breast,potato and a salad for ex.) will have you ready for whatever is in store for tonite!(probably wrapping all those gifts you were shopping for)

Now most would stop there,nope you need one more lite snak,something with a little protein of course.Eat a lite snak later in the evening and your less likely to wake up absolutely starving,plus your body needs the protein to make it thru the night.

I know it sounds like your eating a lot here,but you are really just reproportioning the food you eat across the day.It may take a little time to readjust your self,but it will be worth the effort!

And if you have a bad day,don’t worry about it,tommorow is another day,a new beginning.On a side note,during the holidays,don’t completely try to deprive yourself of everything you love,just treat yourself,but remember it’s a treat,not an everyday thing!

That’s it for today,for more info on proper nutrition and weight loss,please visit www.savingmoneyonproducts.com. Also visit me on facebook and twitter.

There seems to be a lot made of low carbohydrate diets these days.You see magazine aticles,tv commercials and so on praising the effects of the low carb diet.You hear of good carbs and bad carbs,with all the information about carbs floating around it would be easy to get confused on how many carbs you should actually intake everyday.

Carbohydrates,their main job is to provide your body the ability to make fuel to get through the day!Your body uses the carbs provided to make glucose,which is what fuels you.It can either be used immediatly or be stored in the liver and muscles for later use.

Carbohydrates can be found in foods that are healthy and in foods that aren’t so healthy.Bad carbs can be found in foods such as white bread,cookies,cakes,etc.Good carbs are found in foods such as vegetables,fruits and grains.There are two main types of carbs,they are complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates.

Complex Carbohydrates

There are two types of complex carbs-dietary fiber and starch.Starch must be broken down through digestion before the body can use it as a glucose source.Starch is found in certain vegetables such as potatoes,corn and peas as well as some breads, cereals and grains.Dietary fibers are found naturally in the plants we eat and are not digested in our stomachs,but pssed through.The dietary fiber found in some fruits(oranges,pears,strawberries,blueberries),veggies(celery,cucumbers and carrots),nuts,seeds and oatmeal are considered a soluble fiber.Soluble fiber attracts water,slows digestion and makes you feel full longer,which helps control weight.Soluble fiber can also help lower LDL (“bad”) blood cholesterol by interfering with the absorption of dietary cholesterol.

Dietary fiber can also be found in most whole wheat bread,brown rice,whole grain cereals,some seeds,fruits(raisins and grapes) and vegetables(zucchini,broccoli,cabbage,onions,tomatoes and green beans) and considered insoluble fiber.Insoluble fiber has a laxitive effect,add some bulk to the diet and prevent constipation.These fiber do not dissolve in water therefore moves thru your system intact and speeds up the passage of food and waste.

It is widely suggested that you should consume betwwen 25 and 30 grams of fiber per day.The great thing with fiber is that it binds to fat and will aid in removal of fat from your body and it makes you feel full.

Simple Carbohydrates

Simple carbs are carbs that have sugar naturally and that have sugars added during manufacture.Most foods that have sugar added simply have less nutrients than those that don’t.If you check the label and it says sugear,sweetener,syrup,fruit juice concentrate,fructose,glucose,dextrose,lactose or maltose you know it has added sweetner.

How Many Carbs Do You Need?

This tends to be a loaded question,but my research finds that a person who exercises several times per week should range betwwen 200-230 grams of carbohydrates per day.While someone who doesn’t exercise should stay between 130-160 grams of carbohydrates per day.

Well that’s it for today,for more info on this subject and to reveiw the best weight loss and nutrition products on the planet go to my website http://www.savingmoneyonproducts.com. While you are there please sign up for our monthly newsletter.